
Profile
An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines
Latest episodes

Sep 24, 2016 • 14min
Emma Walmsley
Emma Walmsley will be one of just seven female bosses in the country's top 100 companies when she takes the helm of GSK next year. The pharmaceutical giant is worth £80bn, making it the most valuable company with a woman CEO. But how did Emma Walmsley get to where she is today? Mark Coles looks back over her school days and her rise up the corporate career ladder at L'Oreal. We hear from her father, retired vice admiral Sir Robert Walmsley, her school friend and her business associate Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of advertising firm WPP. Who is Emma Walmsley and what impact will she have on one of Britain's biggest companies?

Sep 17, 2016 • 14min
Rodrigo Duterte
The new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is in the news this week because he's threatening to send home some of America's troops and "re-orientate" his country's foreign policy away from its traditional ally, America. And last week he was reported to have called President Obama a "son of a whore". Not surprisingly, perhaps, he has caught the attention of the world's media. But human rights organisations have been paying close attention to Mr Duterte for other reasons: he is alleged to have been complicit in the killing of drug dealers and criminals by vigilante ‘death squads’. Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producer: Phoebe Keane and Micaela Papa

Sep 10, 2016 • 14min
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, and the co-founder of Paypal. He plans to colonise Mars. Last week that dream might have been scuppered as his SpaceX rocket exploded on the Launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the first time a rocket has exploded at launch since 1960. It was carrying a satellite Facebook wanted to use to provide internet access to Africa. While investigations continue into what caused last week's explosion, this week Mark Coles explores the life of the man who also wants to make the travel time from London to Manchester 18 minutes and to counter global warming. Producers: Charlotte Pritchard and Phoebe Keane.

Sep 3, 2016 • 14min
Amber Rudd
Amber Rudd has risen rapidly through British politics, becoming Home Secretary only six years after being elected an MP in 2010. It's a rise unmatched by any other politician since World War Two. Becky Milligan profiles the woman who has made this leap and stepped into Theresa May's shoes. In an exclusive interview for Profile her sister, Melissa Dunford Wood talks candidly about their childhood, parents and friends, and how her sister was "on the floor" after the unexpected and painful divorce from her ex husband AA Gill.

Aug 27, 2016 • 14min
Seumas Milne
Last October Seumas Milne, a Winchester- and Oxford-educated left-winger, was granted unpaid leave from his position at The Guardian to enter the world of political spin as executive director of strategy and communications in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.The appointment wasn't without controversy. Milne has been labelled a Stalinist by David Cameron and caused division at The Guardian for chairing an event with President Putin. Jeremy Corbyn has chosen a hard-left thinker as his right-hand man. As the Labour Party hustings come to a close this week, Adam Fleming speaks to friends and colleagues to find out about the man who's at the heart of the Corbyn project.Producer: Smita Patel.

Aug 20, 2016 • 14min
Laura Trott
Mark Coles speaks to family, friends and colleagues of cyclist Laura Trott - the first British woman to win four Olympic golds - to find out how, after winning her first bike race at the age of eight, she has carried on winning ever since.Producer: Smita Patel.

Aug 13, 2016 • 14min
Stephen Hough
Poet, painter and virtuoso pianist, Stephen Hough has been described as a polymath. He learned to play on a piano that cost £5 from a local antique shop and went on to become a virtuoso to astonish the world. Becky Milligan speaks to lifelong friends and some of the world's leading names in classical music to profile a man who plays like a dream.Producers Smita Patel & Ed Davey.

Jul 30, 2016 • 14min
Sonia Friedman
You may not have heard of Sonia Friedman, but she's one of the most important people in British theatre. She's produced many of the biggest stage hits of the past 15 years - including Jerusalem and The Book of Mormon - and is a multiple award winner. This week, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in London. It was produced by Sonia Friedman.
Her first job interview was with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in their kitchen. She got the job.
She's a consummate deal-maker and is able to persuade writers and performers from JK Rowling to Mark Rylance and Benedict Cumberbatch to work with her.
Mark Coles talks to family, friends and colleagues to discover more about her life and career.Producers: Charlotte Prichard and Sarah Shebbeare.

Jul 24, 2016 • 14min
Owen Smith
Edward Stourton profiles the Labour leadership contender, Owen Smith.
MP for Pontypridd since 2010, Mr Smith is challenging Jeremy Corbyn, saying that he's not up to the job.
A former colleague at BBC Wales - where Mr Smith worked as a journalist - describes him as bright and ambitious, sometimes exasperating, and someone who 'didn't know their place'.
And an old family friend tells us his character is firmly rooted in the culture of the South Wales valleys.Producers: Charlotte Pritchard and Laura Gray.

Jul 16, 2016 • 14min
Theresa May
With no leadership campaign - during which the public might have got to know her better - Theresa May has entered Downing Street with a remarkably low profile. Mark Coles has been talking to people who know her well - including new Cabinet appointees Justine Greening and Chris Grayling - to try to find out who she really is, and what she believes in. Producer: Smita Patel and Laura Gray.